Police

In 2015 drunk driving caused nearly one-third of all driving fatalities in the United States. That is 10,265 people; over 300 more than the year before. However, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 2016 might have marked the worst year yet, with number at a 50-year high. Mark W. Johnson is a retired New York attorney currently living in Rome, Italy. “I used to follow the criminal impaired driving cases for the firm I was at,” Johnson says.

For Lansing youth who are interested in building life skills and exploring what working in public safety can offer, the Lansing Public School Youth Leadership Academy can be an effective learning experience that can lead to further opportunities with emergency services.

Ex-Michigan State University doctor and former Holt resident Larry Nassar is facing over 80 sexual abuse allegations, and that number seems to grow every week. Holt, a small and tight-knit community of just under 24,000 people watched as the headlines of court cases and accusations piled up. Nassar was a long-time resident and, at one point, an active member of the community. The reports began last summer, when allegations began to surface through the news media. One victim, Rachael Denhollander, alleged that Nassar — ungloved and without proper explanation — digitally penetrated her vagina during what was then explained to her as a “medical treatment.”

Denhollander learned later, as many of Nassar’s other patients, this was not a legitimate medical procedure—at the very least, not a commonly used and unexplained one.

Opioid-related deaths in Ingham County have skyrocketed over the last 14 years and the trend is continuing to grow at an overwhelming pace for first responders to deal with. According to a January 2017 Opioid Surveillance report conducted by the Ingham County Health Department, opioid-related deaths have risen 925 percent since 2006.

It is official; the Lansing City Council has unanimously voted and declared Lansing a sanctuary city. Prior to the meeting on April 3 where the vote took place, Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero released an executive order that clarified policies in place for city officials and law enforcement to more effectively protect immigrant and refugees in the community. In Bernero’s executive order, he stated the following:

“We are confident these new policies do not violate federal law, but we are also prepared to take legal action to protect the prerogatives and powers of local government and local law enforcement,” Bernero said. “We do not want our local police to become de facto immigration agents— especially under the divisive and draconian direction of the Trump administration.”

The council agreed. “I think is one time that the city of Lansing has got it right; we are aligned and I think this addressed all the things we are getting in our emails, within our phone calls, within our conversations,” Council Member Judi Brown Clarke said at the meeting Monday.

With the further advancement of technology, drivers behind the wheel are now more distracted than ever and even in the small community of Lansing Charter Township, accidents happen. According to the Lansing Township’s Citizens Guide and Performance Dashboard, in 2014, there was a total of 469 non-injury crashes, 128 injury crashes and zero fatal crashes. However, Lansing Township Supervisor Diontrae Hayes said township roads for the most part don’t see a lot of hazardous driving. “In the Lansing area I haven’t seen much of that,” Hayes said in regards to crazy driving. “We do have accidents like every other place but I can’t say with certainty that consistently on x amount of roads here, there are people speeding or driving reckless.

Environmental News from Great Lakes Echo

By MAX JOHNSTON
Capital News Service
LANSING — Many people consider carp to be a “trash fish,” but fly fishing for carp is popular in northern Michigan. This year though, guides have cancelled trips and lost thousands of dollars because they can’t find the fish.

By CARIN TUNNEY
Capital News Service
LANSING — Lake trout make noise in bed, according to new research by Great Lakes scientists. The species commonly growl, snap, quiver and thump while spawning, the study found.

In Case You Missed It

Summertime poses as the perfect opportunity for students to make and earn money for the up-and-coming school year but with more and more summer internships failing to offer compensation for their time students can struggle to make ends meet. “When I first got my internship I was so excited,” said Michigan State University pre-med student Ali Beydoun, “then found out it was unpaid and I got a little worried.